OT: One year passed ...

[Marvel]

Well, most of the old forum guys know this, but today (Dec. 28th) is the one year anniversary of my wife Barbara passing away from skin cancer. You have all been like a family here, and I just wanted to say thanks for all the support we received last year.

The family has been making it okay. The three kids (ages 27, 25, 21) all seem to be holding up well. The middle one is in Montreal with his girlfriend for Christmas, the oldest lives a few miles away and the youngest and I are getting ready to listen to some CDs he just got today.

In a nutshell, God is good to us, His mercy endures forever and ever, and great is His faithfulness.

Bruce

[klipsch4life]

Bruce

I'm sorry for your loss. I lost my wife to lung cancer 4 years ago so I know the trremendous loss you have suffered. Especially in the case of my wife, who gave and did so much for so many, what a loss...

Have faith that you will get thru it and keep the faith when you do. It's the only thing that kept me going.

Kevin

[jt1stcav]

Glad to hear you and the kids have managed as well as you have this past year. I can surely imagine it has been rough at times, but you're all of such strong faith that you can overcome your loss with fond and beautiful memories...I'm sure it's what your wife would have wanted, Bruce.

Peace.

[Champagne taste beer budget]

It seems like yesterday. I'm glad to hear you and the family are getting along well. Keep looking forward to tomorrow, but never forget the past. I'm sure she would want it no other way.

Peace be with you.

[Marvel]

Most days it is as if nothing has changed at all. Like she is off doing something somewhere else. In some ways it has been easier than we imagined it would be, and at the same time the loss will just nail each of us with some memory. I've put it into words for others, but this isn't the time or place. It would seem rather selfserving.

Life moves on... and is not cyclical, it doesn't repeat. Perhaps having a girlfriend helps, yet I don't know where that is going to lead.

Really, we are doing okay and I am glad to be on here, calling you my friends. We laugh a lot, and life hasn't stopped for us. Life is good.

[colterphoto1]

Bruce, you have made remarkable strides in this past year. From what you've shared, you have remained positive, true to your faith, empathatic to others, and open about your pain. You are more of a man than most. I wish you continued fond memories of your Barbara, may then never fade. You deserve success and happiness and with time, surely the sun will shine brightly again on you my friend.

I do know something of your loss at this time of year, which does make the holidays a more difficult. My dear Mother's funeral was on Christmas Eve 7 years ago. And it's a tough time in life for the kids to lose a parent as they are just now probably fully blossoming into the adults they will become. But I'm sure that Barbara knew that they'd be good people all along, she raised them that way. The strength that all of you display to carry on as you do is a testament to her nurturing over the years.

Hang tough Bruce. But be tender, it suits you.

Michael

[oldbuckster]

"He doesn't give you anymore than you can handle"..................It is so true, be strong, you and your family will be fine...................I am not a church going Guy, question alot of the bible stories, but I do believe there's a GOD, and he has a plan for us all, and he takes us when he's ready for us, and he took your wife because he had a purpose for her, and he needed her help. Keep your family close, Keep the Faith, Hang in there, and Thank God for everyday you wake up......................Peace be with you.............................

[rplace]

Bruce,

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I cant believe it has been a year already. While we have never met and our forum paths dont cross a whole lot with respect to speakers, music or advice I truly enjoy reading your posts and throughout the past year have often though of you for some strange reason.

Time really flies; I would have guessed it to have been 6-8 months.

Glad to hear you are doing well.

All the best in the new year, Rich

[Marvel]

Time is, indeed, flying by.

A short story for you:




Barbara had participated in a home school discussion group, and had
gotten to know one of the other members quite well. In 2001, when first
diagnosed with mel, this friend of hers started praying for Barbara.
Later that year, their youngest daughter (age 4) was diagnosed with
Leukemia. By that time, Barbara was okay and just receiving follow-up
exams. But the little girl, Adrienne, prayed for Barbara, and Barbara
certainly prayed for her. Last year, after her new diagnosis, Adrienne
prayed for Barbara all the time, and a novena during the nine days
leading up to Christmas. We had never met this family, but only
communicated through email and regular mail. They live in Kansas, a
distance that was just a bit too far for us to drive, never on the way
to anyplace else we wanted to go.




At the funeral, as we left the church, a woman came up to me and handed
me a white rose, a gift from Adrienne, for me to place on Barbara's
casket. (they had contacted someone else they knew who lived in the
area, to get the flower to me) She has now been declared cancer free!
This week I received a card from her, which ends with this:




"Have a Merry Christmas! I will pray for you and Mrs. Barbara when we
go to Midnight Mass. This will probably be her best Christmas ever.
:-)"

[Arky]

Thanks for posting that Marvel.

[dtel's wife]

Marvel,

As always, your posts about Barbara move me to tears, not bad tears. Tears of joy for you and the kids. Your enduring faith has kept you strong and your family ties even stronger.

The gift of the rose at Barbara's funeral says it all. Barbara was thought of miles and miles away from the funeral. We never know when God will answer our cry, but like has already been said, "He never gives us more than we can bear."

This Christmas season and always we wish you and yours the very best.

Christy and Elden